Dungeons & Dragons Review

Dungeons & Dragons
In the magical kingdom of Izmir a civil war is on the verge of erupting between the young empress and her council of mages, headed by dark wizard Profion. With the balance of power resting upon ownership of a mystical rod, apprentice mage Marina teams up with a bumbling pair of thieves to retrieve the artefact and put an end to Profion's misdeeds.

by Emma Cochrane |
Published on
Release Date:

16 Feb 2001

Running Time:

108 minutes

Certificate:

12

Original Title:

Dungeons & Dragons

Before the major release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, New Line decided to test the waters by bidding $5 million to distribute this much lesser sword 'n' sorcery affair - a decision they must now deeply regret. Lumbered with an appalling script, some plastic-looking props and a plot that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, this is shaky from the start.

Irons clearly took his bad guy role to help pay for the castle he's renovating in his spare time, while scripters Topper Lilien and Carroll Cartwright have blatantly mimicked some Star Wars scenes to pep up proceedings.

Yet, despite it all, it does have a certain appeal, at least to younger viewers. The dragons and animated city scapes are decent, and it's certainly no worse than Krull (1983), which seems to enjoy a cult following. Maybe one day this can aspire to as much.

Pleasing special effects and some daft humour don't go far towards salvaging this absurd fantasy yarn. If you absolutely must get some D&D action, then dig out the 80s cartoon series instead.
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